i swapped my motor and i cant figure out why it wont sta

[luvmymx3]

hey i would really like some help any one. well i have a 92 mx-3 gs and the motor i had when i got it the regular k8 had 208 thousand miles so it went out and i decided to buy the same motor a k8 block and replace it because it was cheapest. well the k8 motor happened to be a 94 ford probe k8 block and heads. so when i got it i swapped all my parts onto it and put it back in car well the car will snot start it trys to fire with ether but it sputters and wont start. the only time it started was one time i turned my key off and as i did that it started then died after secs now it will not start at all i am getting spark and i am getting fuel through injectors and through the regulator. i really would like some info on what might be wrong with the car so anything would help. also would it matter if i had that little tube in the front that bends down by the distributor and the radiator off of my intake hose i have tried everything i know to get it running so help me plz thanx

[IanL]

The most likely problem is unmetered air - air getting into the TB without going through the VAF. Check all the vacuum tubes and especially the ribbed hose between the VAF and the TB.

[IanL]

Originally posted by luvmymx3:
.....well the k8 motor happened to be a 94 ford probe k8 block and heads.....

A K8 in a Probe? Can that be right?

[luvmymx3]

i dont have any holes in the ripped pipe but what is the vaf?? also that elbow peice is off that comes off the intake hose would that matter ???

[luvmymx3]

well i bout it for 599 from a foreign motor place and i saw it on pickup day and said this is the wrong motor it says ford on the heads. well he showed me the k8 stamped on the block and checked his computers and they said that it is from a 94 ford probe
i am under waruntee but dont want to pull the motor out agian if it will work i just wanna know why it want start

[Mnemonic]

you have a 2.5 klde motor all K series blocks are the same its teh internals that are different, my kfze says k8 on the block but the tag says kf.

[luvmymx3]

how can i tell that it is a 2.5l klde all my stuff bolted up to it right. also i compression tested it and it only had 90lbs in my cylinders. let me know how i can tell if it the stock motor the 1.8l cause that is what i had

[Pedro_mx3]

from what i understand you havent got the resonator pipe on the airbox? the black pipe that comes down infron of the radiator? unmetered air is getting in, put it back on or block the hole with something not likely to go into the engine

[perhapsadingo8yerbaby]

Agree w/Pedro. Sounds like you've allowed an opening for a large amt. of unmetered air to enter the intake. It's overwhelming the engine's ability to create/regulate the correct air/fuel mixture.

[lakersfan1]

Originally posted by Mnemonic:
you have a 2.5 klde motor all K series blocks are the same its teh internals that are different, my kfze says k8 on the block but the tag says kf.

Someone probably put a K8 in a Probe as a cheap alternative replacement. If it says K8 on the block, it's pretty indesputable it's a K8. If it says K8 on the heads, then it could still be a KL block. My question would be which injectors and intake manifold are on it.

[babyblueMX3]

just look for the stamping on the block (kl or k8)

[IanL]

Originally posted by luvmymx3:
i dont have any holes in the ripped pipe but what is the vaf?? also that elbow peice is off that comes off the intake hose would that matter ???

Look at the diagram at Page F2-2 of the online manual. The VAF is #3, and #4 is the "elbow piece" I guess. Without that, you can see a huge hole (unless you have completely blocked it).

[IanL]

Originally posted by luvmymx3:
how can i tell that it is a 2.5l klde all my stuff bolted up to it right. also i compression tested it and it only had 90lbs in my cylinders. let me know how i can tell if it the stock motor the 1.8l cause that is what i had

If the Engine Number stamped on the block starts with K8 it is a K8. Otherwise it's a KL, and you would need the KLDE ECU and VAF for it to run well. (I think it would run, but not so well, with the K8 ECU and VAF).

The compression test is at Page B2-10 of the online manual. It says the minimum is 142 psi. If your measurement is correct, you should take the engine back.

[luvmymx3]

thanx for all the info everybody. well i am going to put the resonator back on and try that but when i got the motor i am pretty sure it said k8 on the block in a couple different spots. also i swapped my intake manifold and all my other parts i needed from my 1.8l that i had in there stock and it all ran fine before the motor blew. i will try it and hope it starts if not what else could it be. also i will compression test it again cause my theory with that is that maybe it sat so long that the rings shrunk up and just will not reseat and that is why i do not have the right amount of compression. it is only supposed to have 35 thousand miles on it so the motor should still be good

[mxmaz]

It doesn't make sense someone with a ford probe would downgrade to a k8 engine. Did you take a look at the actual serial number, if it was a k8 it would go something like this: k8 267546 (those 6 numbers are just an example of what it would be like, those are not actual numbers). And if it was a kl, the serial number would be kl followed by 6 numbers.